Archives: 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009



Friday 19th June 2009

Astoria Re-berth: The Hull Story

Astoria Re-berth. Photo: Phil Taylor.
  Our regular readers will know that David's houseboat studio Astoria is one of the best, and certainly the most beautiful, of London's private recording studios. Her hull was recently inspected and deemed in need of renovation, so she was moved to dry dock to have a complete steel hull replacement, which should mean she lasts another 30-40 years with no further major work.

After the new hull was successfully fitted, she was re-floated and towed back to her berth yesterday. The photo above was taken by Astoria studio boss Phil Taylor, and we have some more to view in Galleries.

The boat was built in 1911 for theatrical impresario Fred Karno, who wanted to have the best houseboat on the river, specifying that the deck should be able to accommodate an entire 90-piece orchestra. David bought Astoria in 1986 and has used it for recording and mixing Pink Floyd and solo projects.

Filmmaker Gavin Elder was in attendance throughout the hull replacement operations, so we hope to be able to bring you the moving story in moving pictures at some time in the future.



Thursday 18th June 2009

It's A July Judgement Day For Gary

July 14th is the date for the next step in the fight to prevent the extradition of alleged hacker Gary McKinnon. Gary's lawyer, Karen Todner, has announced that Lord Justice Stanley Burnton and Mr Justice Wilkie will decide on Tuesday 14th July whether Gary is to be extradited to the US to face court proceedings there.

In the event that the court dismisses the order then it will be determined if the case should be tried in the UK. There is a possibility that the whole case could be dismissed, or even rebuilt from the start. There are a lot of considerations, so it is conceivable that the proceedings could be carried over into a further day, which would have to be re-scheduled separately.



Friday 12th June 2009

Gary McKinnon's New Review Due

A judicial review by Britain's high court of former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith's handling of the Gary McKinnon extradition proceedings took place in London this week. We are hopeful that new Home Secretary Alan Johnson may review the case with a fresh approach, taking into consideration the crucial medical evidence that Gary McKinnon suffers from Asperger's syndrome, previously ignored.

A ruling is expected to be announced next week.